Saudi-French Talks to Support Cultural Cooperation

Saudi Arabia's Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan
Saudi Arabia's Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan
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Saudi-French Talks to Support Cultural Cooperation

Saudi Arabia's Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan
Saudi Arabia's Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan

Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, the Saudi Minister of Culture, met the French ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ludovic Pouille via video call.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed several aspects of cultural cooperation between the two countries and ways to develop them, especially concerning the existing corporations and the future opportunities between the two sides, particularly in AlUla.

They also highlighted ways to enhance international cultural exchange between the two countries.

Meanwhile, the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission intends to launch the Arab Translation Observatory initiative by early 2022, to document and coordinate translations in the Arab world, as well as providing a reliable reference and a platform for knowledge and cultural exchange.

The Arab Translation Observatory initiative aims to bridge the knowledge gap between Arabs and the rest of the world by enriching cultural exchange and developing a sustainable competitive system for the translation sector to achieve economic growth for the Kingdom and to strengthen its position as a leading digital reference for certified translation.

The Arab Translation Observatory initiative strives to create an environment in which the efforts of authors, translators, and publishers are integrated, and translation to and from the Arabic language is dynamic.



Ancient Egyptian Coffin Given New Life in Britain

Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University
Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University
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Ancient Egyptian Coffin Given New Life in Britain

Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University
Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University

An ancient Egyptian coffin was given a new life after it has been returned to Swansea University's Egypt Center in Wales.

The artifact, believed to date from about 650 BC, is now back at the university after thousands of hours of conservation work at Cardiff University, where it was painstakingly cleaned, reconstructed and consolidated to prevent it from deteriorating further, according to BBC.

The coffin, originally made for a man called Ankhpakhered in the Greek city of Thebes, was transported back under the watchful eye of the center’s curator Dr. Ken Griffin.

Staff described the finished project as “beyond our wildest dreams.”

“The coffin was gifted to us by Aberystwyth University in 1997 but details about its history are sketchy,” Griffin said.

He added: “It actually ended up being used as a storage box at one time, with other Egyptian objects placed in it for safekeeping.”

The university’s Phil Parkes explained that the wooden coffin was covered in textile and then had a thin layer of decorated plaster over the top.

He said: “Much of that textile had become detached over time and was just hanging loose.”

Parkes added that the separate wooden head was detached and there were a couple of large pieces of wood missing, the side of the base had fallen off and it was in a very sorry condition overall.